https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-Aikins2024

Aikins, J. W., & Aikins, D. (2024). Maternal processes contributing to child internalizing and externalizing symptoms: Comparing military, two-parent, and single-parent families. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 33(5), 1590-1601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-024-02798-y

This study compared depressive symptoms and parenting stress among mothers from 2-parent military families, 2-parent civilian families, and single-parent civilian families. In addition, the associations among mothers’ depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and children’s internalizing (e.g., withdrawn) and externalizing (e.g., impulsive) symptoms were compared across family types. Mothers whose partner was a deployed Service member (henceforth, homefront mothers; n = 563), mothers from single-parent civilian families (n = 204), and mothers from 2-parent civilian families (n = 193) self-reported their depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and their young child’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Overall, homefront mothers reported more depressive symptoms than civilian mothers. The strength of the associations among mothers’ depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and children’s symptoms differed across family types.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-024-02798-y

Mental health
Children
Deployment
Parents

Multiple branches

Active Duty

Child of a service member or veteran
Spouse of service member or veteran
Active duty service member

Childhood (birth - 12 yrs)
Preschool age (2 -5 yrs)
School age (6 - 12 yrs)
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)

Cross-Sectional Study
Quantitative Study

Aikins, Julie Wargo, Aikins, Deane

Following the United States’ recent engagements in military conflicts, the impact of parent deployment on child adaptation has become an increased focus of research. This study examined the contributions of maternal depressive affect and parenting stress to young children’s (ages 3 to 7) internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. In order to examine how these maternal factors contribute to child well-being, mean level differences and path analysis with group level modelling examined differences between military, single-parent and two-parent civilian families. Mean level differences reflected higher rates of difficulty for military homefront mothers in terms of depressive affect than either single or two-parent families and similar levels of parenting stress with single mothers. Military children demonstrated higher rates of internalizing or externalizing symptoms than children in single or two-parent families. Path analysis results indicated group level differences in links between maternal depressive affect and internalizing symptoms, with military families having stronger associations than single parent families. No group level differences were found between maternal depressive affect and externalizing symptoms. Associations between parenting stress and internalizing symptoms were stronger for military families than two parent families but weaker than single parent families, while the links between parenting stress and externalizing symptoms were the same for military and for single-parent families. These findings have important implications regarding potential intervention/prevention approaches for military families, suggesting that it may be particularly beneficial to target homefront mothers’ depressive affect and parenting stress during deployment as a means for promoting positive child outcomes.

Article
REACH Publication
Featured Research

maternal processes, parenting stress, military children

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-024-02798-y

Research Summary

  May 2024